East Germany during the Berlin Wall

At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, it was ordered that the defeated Germany would be divided into four occupational zones, occupied by France, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States. The Russians controlled the eastern half of Germany, while the other big three members took over the western half. The Soviets were quick to instill a communist regime in their area of Germany, while the other allies started to merge their areas to form Western Germany.
Life was not viewed as equal in both places, though. Many Eastern Germans saw the West as a place for liberation, and started to emigrate there.
In 1961, due to the giant influx of escapees, East German authorities ordered the construction of a barrier preventing Easterners from going to the West: it was called the Berlin Wall. The wall stood as a literal and metaphorical symbol of the divide between Capitalism and Communism. So what was life like in the now isolated, Communist controlled East Germany?

Eastern Germany was officially called Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or the German Democratic Republic. Life wasn't as bad as many imagine it to be, as the average wage was 1200 Marks or $250 a month. There was a great incentive to have children. For every birth, parents would receive 1000 marks. There were also housing rewards also.
Education was a big part of East German society. Kindergarten, nursery schools, and health care were all free. Going to University, though, was very difficult. One had to be part of the FDJ (Free German Youth Group), basically another organization spreading Socialist Propaganda. That wasn't all that was needed to get into University, though, as one also had to go to erweiterte Oberschule, the highest standard of secondary education.
The Culture in East Germany was also very vibrant. Although literature and the Press were censored, Eastern Germans were very active in Cinema. There was also a football (soccer) team, but it unfortunately did not find much success as it never qualified for the World Cup. On the literal other side, the West Germans actually won the World Cup in 1974 and 1990. The most popular sports were cycling, weight lifting, swimming, and gymnastics.
Not everything was open. As mentioned before, the press was censored by the GDR, and the whole area was monitored by the Stasi (secret police). The Stasi could tap phone conversations and had surveillance everywhere. Neighbors were often encouraged to spy on one another.


Aftermath:
In 1989, Hungary loosened its border restrictions with Austria, opening up a hole in the Iron Curtain. A few years later, coinciding with the fall of the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall also fell, thus re-unifying Germany. Millions rejoiced, as Germany became a once again independent nation. The Berlin Wall can be seen today as a symbol for what happens when clashing idealisms try to take over the same area. The results never work out. The idea of a wall isn't totally done with, though, as Today there are the ever-constant rumors of building a wall bordering Mexico, however as shown here it will only lead to more division within the nations.






Sources:
http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/07/8-things-that-were-better-in-east-germany/
http://art.members.sonic.net/unify90/ber6.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_East_Germany
http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/02__GIC/GIC/05/08-Mauerfall25/02-Timeline/Feature__1/Timeline__Gallery__B.html